Festival feast without bajjis – no way
Dipped them in a batter, prepared with gram flour(besan), red chilli powder, salt, baking soda, ajwain seeds(Vaamu) and water. (Check out this post for ingredients photo.) Then deep fried them in hot oil.
Platefull of Chilli-Onion-Potato Bajjis
Wicked looking chillies, those 🙂 Surely you dont add red chilli powder to the batter when making chilli bajjis???
Comment by Shammi — October 14, 2005 @ 10:52 am
LOL..
Shammi..I made these on Dasera. I used the same batter for these 3 varieties(very hectic day, had to prepare naivedyam by afternoon)
Red chilli powder, I didn’t add much. They are quite good with chitrannam and bhakshalu combination.
Comment by Indira — October 14, 2005 @ 11:17 am
those look yummy… is there any substutute for baking soda.. thanx for recipe.. wow now i can make a lot of stuff for diwali.. last year i just made jamuns ( readymix) 😉 i just started learning to cook at that time.. so this diwali iam going to make all ur gr8 festive recipes…thanx indira
Comment by priya — October 14, 2005 @ 1:01 pm
Hi Indira- I am craving some of those right now. Yumm!!! I have seen chili bajji’s stuffed with something. Do you know what that filling is? I also make bajjis with eggpant slices. Although a little oily, the eggplant just melts in your mouth and tastes great.
Comment by mika — October 14, 2005 @ 1:04 pm
So, would this be similar to Japanese tempura?
Either way, looks fantastic.
Comment by Stephanie — October 14, 2005 @ 1:50 pm
Hi Indira –
Are the potatoes steamed or boiled before you dip them and fry them? Have you ever done lauki/bottlegourd this way? I made lauki ke kofta the other day for the first time and I really like the taste of the kofta before they get in the sauce – I bet it would be delicious as a pakora! I *love* pakoras when I get them at someone’s house, but hate them at restaurants – they’re best when hot from the oil.
Comment by Christy — October 14, 2005 @ 2:15 pm
Hi Priya… I guess you can substitue baking soda with baking powder. Just a pinch is enough to make the batter more frothy.
Gulab jamuns.. yum.. It’s been a while since I made those, may be for this Diwali:)-
Mika..I make the stuffed variety too occasionally with Indian Bajji type of green chillies -long, straight, little bit on plump side. Preparation is time consuming but they taste quite good and not hot at all.
I usually stuff them with a paste of tamarind, dry coconut, and roasted sesame seeds+ coriander seeds+cumin and salt. This is how they make stuffed green chilli bajjis in Hyderabad.
Stephanie.. Thanks.
Yes, just like tempura they are deep fried but the batter is quite different.
Hi Christy…They are raw potatoes sliced very thin using a mandoline. I usually dip them in the batter then let it slide off the edge of the vessel so that one side is coated with batter and on the other side potato is exposed to hot oil, resulting in very crunchy potato bajjis.
I make bajjis with bottlegourd, my husband, Vijay likes them very much. I never tried lauki bajjis. Lauki koftas sound good, I am happy that you are experimenting and trying out new dishes. Did you make bitter gourd curry, Christy?
Comment by Indira — October 14, 2005 @ 2:44 pm
I haven’t yet made bitter gourd curry. I’m 5 months pregnant and honestly, I’ve got to be pretty well convinced that something is going to be good for me to try it at this point. My husband (Vinay) is so-so about bitter gourd, so I think I’ve decided to wait on it until my appetite and tastes return to normal.
Isn’t lauki the same thing as bottlegourd? I thought it was…. The koftas are good – but I’m not a big fan of frying something and then putting it in a thin liquid to soak up the sauce. I can’t remember the name of the little donut shaped things that get put in yogurt but my sister-in-law makes them all the time and I want to always jump in and stop her before she drowns them in the liquid!!!
Comment by Christy — October 14, 2005 @ 3:44 pm
Christy.. I got confused, sorry,I thought you are asking about snake gourd bajjis.
Yep, laukis and bottlegourd are the same.
Comment by Indira — October 14, 2005 @ 4:01 pm
I love these bajjis. They look deliciouslylipsmackinglyfantastic!! Yum!
Comment by ammani — October 14, 2005 @ 4:28 pm
Great posts, Thanks ! 🙂
Comment by Chanit — October 15, 2005 @ 2:18 pm
Indira
One doubt. If you did cauliflower bajji, you’d steam the florets, nah?
Comment by ammani — October 16, 2005 @ 12:44 pm
Ammani..For cauliflower bajji, I don’t cook/steam the florets before. I usually prepare the batter on the thin side(watery), so that the dipped floret has very thin coating of gram flour batter, can cook thoroughly in hot oil.We prefer them crunchy, like that. Steamed ones also taste great, I think, more on the soft side.
Comment by Indira — October 16, 2005 @ 6:33 pm
Hey indira,
Tried out potato kurma and sambar using yr version of ground powder. Both are really excellent or more than that??
My hub really appreciated potato kurma and finished most of them!!! Thanks a lot. adding cherry tomato to the sambar yields great taste and color, could not belive. But, that is true which learnt from yr kitchen.
You are simply great, Indira..
Bye.
Comment by Rama — November 12, 2006 @ 10:02 am